Decree Introducing the Nurnberg Racial Laws into the Land of Austria 20 May 1938

Pursuant to Article II of the law relating to there-union of Austria with the German Reich, 13 March 1938 (Reichsgesetz Bl. I, p. 237), the following is ordered:

ARTICLE I

LAW RELATING TO CITIZENSHIP OF THE REICH

Section 1

The following are applicable to the Land of Austria:

1. The Law Relating to Citizenship of the Reich of 15 September 1935 (Reichsgesetz Bl. I, p. 1146).

2. Section 2, Sub-Section 2, Section 4, Sub-Sections 1, 3 and 4, Sections 5 and 6, Sub-Section 1, and Section 7 of the First Decree under the Law Relating to Citizenship of the Reich of 14 November 1935 (Reichsgesetz Bl. I, p. 1333).

Section 2

The effective date of Section 1, Sub-Section 2, of the Reich Citizenship Law will be determined by the Reich Minister of the Interior.

Section 3

The elimination of Jews from public offices which they hold on the effective date of this decree will be specially regulated.

Section 4

For the application of Section 5, Sub-Section 2, of the First Decree under the Reich Citizenship Law, 16 September 1935 will be considered the effective date of the Reich Citizenship Law in Austria also, and 17 September 1935 will be considered the day on which the law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor came into effect.

ARTICLE II

THE LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE BLOOD

Section 5

The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor of 15 September 1935 (Reichsgesetz Bl. I, p. 1146) and the First Decree for the implementation of this Law of 14 November 1935 (Reichsgesetz Bl. I, p. 1334) are applicable to the Land of Austria.

Section 6

Section 3 of the Law for the Protection of the Blood will become effective on 1 August 1938.

Section 7

For the application of Section 12, paragraph 3, of the First Decree for the implementation of the Law for the Protection of the Blood, the 16 September 1935 is also to be considered the effective date of the Law for the Protection of the Blood in Austria.

Section 8

1. A marriage cannot be entered into unless it is proved by the testimony of the local Burgermeister of the bride's permanent residence that there is no obstacle to the marriage according to the provisions of the Law for the Protection of the Blood and of the First Decree for the implementation of this law. If the bride has no permanent residence in Austria, the competence of the Burgermeister is determined by the further Provisions of Section 3 of the General Administrative Procedure Law (Austrian BG. BL. #274/1925).

2. If the Burgermeister has any doubt about the existence of a marriage obstacle in the sense of Section 6 of the First Decree for the implementation of the Law for the Protection of the Blood, he must demand a Marriage Fitness Certificate from the bride and groom of the official physician.

Section 9

In the application of Section 15, sentence 2, of the First Decree for the implementation of the Law for the Protection of the Blood, the former possession of Austrian citizenship is equivalent to the former possession of German citizenship.

ARTICLE III

PROCEDURE REGULATIONS

Section 10

In annulment proceedings, the provisions of the Austrian Law relating to the jurisdiction and the procedure of the courts in lawsuits relating to the annulment of marriages are applicable, subject to the following limitations:

1. The suit is to be made against both spouses. If the public prosecutor or one of the spouses files an appeal, then in the first case both spouses and in the second case the public prosecutor and the other spouse are to be considered as adverse parties.

2. The regulations relating to compulsory representation by counsel are not applicable to the public prosecutor.

3. If the public prosecutor is defeated, the Treasury is obliged to refund the expenses incurred by the spouses, according to Sections 40 et seq., of the Austrian Civil Law.

4. No counsel for the defense of the marriage bond will be appointed.

5. The suit can only be field, if both spouses are alive. If one of the spouses should die before the sentence is executed, the case is to be considered in the main as closed.

Section 11

The court of first instance has jurisdiction over violations of Section 5, Sub-Sections 1 and 2, of the Law for the Protection of the Blood.

ARTICLE IV

CONCLUDING PROVISIONS

Section 12

If regulations introduced into Austria by this decree cannot be applied according to the letter, they are to be applied according to the spirit.

Section 13

This decree comes into effect on the day after its promulgation.

Berlin, 20 May 1938.

The Reichsminister of the Interior
Frick

The Deputy of the Fuehrer
Hess

The Reich Minister for Justice
per Dr. Schlegelberger.

Source:
Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression Volume IV
Office of the United States Chief Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality
Washington, DC : United States Government Printing Office, 1946